The Grand Dérangement is considered to be the most important event in Cajun and Acadian history. From 1755 to 1764 the British first deported Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies, and after 1758, transported additional Acadians to Britain and France. In all, of the 14,100 Acadians in the region, approximately 11,500 Acadians were deported. Thousands of Acadians died in the expulsions, mainly from diseases and drowning when ships were lost.

Some of the exiles were welcomed at their destinations. The worse treatment of the Acadian Exiles took place in the New England Colony of Virginia. The Virginians took great pride in the punishment bestowed on the Acadians for being what the Virginians labeled, "French Catholic Savages". The goal of the Virginians was complete extermination of the Acadian people. Most were forced into slavery, working and living with the African American Slaves in Virginia.

The exiles declared their plight to be: "far worse than the old Testament world of Egyptian or Babylonian captivity". Faragher compared the expulsions to contemporary acts of ethnic cleansing. The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized the historic event in his poem about the plight of the fictional character Evangeline, which was popular and made the expulsion well known.

Many Cajun Families settled in Louisiana after being imprisoned and detained in the New England Colonies. These courageous ancestors that managed to survive everything that was done to them are the grandparents of "The Plaisance Side."

I learned just how wonderful the Cajun descendants are shortly after I married my husband. Every Sunday We drove 70 miles for dinner at his grandmother's. On our way to the 'bayou' my husband would wave to just about every car we passed.

I asked him what in the world was he waving at... he smiled and told me ...that was my cousin ...that was my uncle ... needless to say I thought he was joking. Nope I wave now too!

"The Rodgers and Green Tree"

Some noteworthy ancestors... Provided and her brother Daniel Southwick were sentenced to be sold into slavery by the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts. The Puritans hated the Quakers and they passed laws trying to get rid of the Quakers. Provided's parents, Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, were sent to Shelter Island in New York, in mid winter and they died within three days of each other. Provided let the authorities know just what she thought of them and that was part of why her and her brother were to be sold into slavery in Barbados. No-one could be found to transport the teenagers and they're sentence was not carried out. Hugh Landis was beheaded for his faith. A few years later his son Felix Landis also refused to forsake his faith and was beaten so severely that he died after his body was thrown under a pew. Hugh Haye was an amazing magician. People were scared of him. (Long after his death he was thought to have been Merlin??) Sir Henry Sinclair was the founder of the Knights Templars, It is believed he is connected Oak Island and to Tombstones in Nova Scotia where he is possibly buried. (Way before colonization) Jan Janzoon van Hoarlem was a Moroccan Pirate. I remember an ancestor who was involved in testifying in the Salem Witch Trials, another who married a dead woman so he could use his marriage to become king. The lives of our ancestors were all amazing. These are just a few of those who existed so we can exist.

I have been recklessly adding generations and more generations to my personal family tree, mostly without siting many of the required sources. My stupid plan was to fill out the tree then I would go back and add those missing sources. I stopped at 15 Generations and have tried to be the genealogist I absolutely should have been. I tried to start from the 1st generation and fix my errors. I am ashamed to admit that because of my recklessness I have a very large tree of over 6000 people and even if I were to work every moment of every day from now on, it would take me over 18 years to correct this mistake. If you find yourself digging into this tree remember to check and make sure that the ancestor in question has the required proof attached. I am showing this tree on this site, knowing that this tree is not even close to being acceptable, so that in the future maybe one of my descendants will complete what I failed to accomplish.

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